So just out of the blue I decided we could start laying down some sub flooring in the basement. I'm tired of walking on cold concrete in the winter and I'd like to start working on that part of the house to make it feel more homey. The floor is uneven and like I said cold. So I gave David the okay and budgeted some money for wood to get it started.
Now we're dealing with that unevenness of the floor. Plus the dogs are have issues with peeing on the floor downstairs so I cleaned up some of it with ammonia and a wash cloth. So we had to put things on hold the rest of the day due to letting the floor dry all the way. We don't want mold now do we? In this area we're laying down a plastic layer and insulation beneath the subfloor to help with the cold in that area. I want to lay down carpet but I highly doubt that's what David will do. He has free rein in that area so it's up to him.
I'm currently thinking of putting up all of my scrap booking stuff up until Walter leaves for boot camp and I'm able to start working on the bed room and the craft room. It will probably be close to a year before we're able to get to that point but by then I'll be able to get all I want done. I'm also considering getting rid of my desktop and the current work table I have now. I'm thinking of looking into a different desk and getting rid of our old kitchen table. I'm not sure on what to do though. It would take convincing David of this same idea. Well I guess we'll see what happens.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Another Problem
So whilst taking a shower last night we are told by our son, William, that there's a leak downstairs. Well David runs down stairs to find it freely flowing from one of the pipes. Oh did I mention the spraying part!? Well he shuts off the water (thank God I was done!) and finds the leak. It's coming from the top of the pipe where the shower head is. So back upstairs. Move all of the crap from Edward's closet (I found all of his dirty laundry!) and go into the area where you can access the pipes for the shower through the wall and find the leak. I'm not sure how bad it is David was seriously too pissed off to talk at that point. Who wouldn't be, right?
He says he can go one of two ways. One he can fix it quickly and now and cheaply be done until a later date or he can do it right spend a little bit of money and be done with it forever. I'm saying number 2. Mine as well get it over and done with. Luckily he can access it all from Edward's side of the wall. He'll have to cut it all out and fix it. But replacing dry wall is a lot easier than replacing tile. And God only knows how old the white subway tile is in my bathroom. Plus I really like it and want to keep it! So guess what David will be doing today? He wanted a project! LOL. Luckily we have the funds to do this right now and it's not going to hurt us too much. It's more of an inconvenience at the moment.
Funny thing is David came upstairs from the basement and yelled, "Well consider this the official start of your bathroom remodel!" We need to redo the bathroom from the shoddy work done prior to our moving in to Nana's break down and freak out which tore up the one wall. But we were going to wait since remodeling a bathroom is no easy feat and is expensive. Personally if I had my choice we'd completely gut and reposition the fixtures. But since we really don't have money for that we'll deal with new drywall, tile on the floor and paint.
Another project has started itself for us. How nice of the house to start thinking for itself!
He says he can go one of two ways. One he can fix it quickly and now and cheaply be done until a later date or he can do it right spend a little bit of money and be done with it forever. I'm saying number 2. Mine as well get it over and done with. Luckily he can access it all from Edward's side of the wall. He'll have to cut it all out and fix it. But replacing dry wall is a lot easier than replacing tile. And God only knows how old the white subway tile is in my bathroom. Plus I really like it and want to keep it! So guess what David will be doing today? He wanted a project! LOL. Luckily we have the funds to do this right now and it's not going to hurt us too much. It's more of an inconvenience at the moment.
Funny thing is David came upstairs from the basement and yelled, "Well consider this the official start of your bathroom remodel!" We need to redo the bathroom from the shoddy work done prior to our moving in to Nana's break down and freak out which tore up the one wall. But we were going to wait since remodeling a bathroom is no easy feat and is expensive. Personally if I had my choice we'd completely gut and reposition the fixtures. But since we really don't have money for that we'll deal with new drywall, tile on the floor and paint.
Another project has started itself for us. How nice of the house to start thinking for itself!
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Moving On
So with winter coming upon us we're starting to make plans for our next big project. We have two bigger projects we want to start but one will have to wait until after winter is over with. The other one is one that has to wait until after Walter moves out.
The 1st project is the front porch. The current porch is falling apart. The stairs are bowing as you walk up them. The balistraude is falling apart with the rails coming out of the porch all together. In a couple of spots I'm afraid to step because I'm afraid I'm going to fall through the porch. The porch isn't the best in design and it's not big enough. Unfortunately all David and I have agreed upon is that it needs to be made out of red wood and pressure treated wood. UGH! I came up with a design idea that would block off the side yard from the dogs and from prying eyes from the sidewalk in the front of the house (we want privacy when we put in our hot tub), and it would give us more room. David said flat out that he doesn't want to redo the sprinkler system. I'd really like it if we would but what do I know. I'm sure eventually he'll come around to thinking about it but I'm wondering how long that will take.
The 2nd project is our bedroom. I want to get that room done. What I want to do though is wait until Walter goes off to boot camp, then we can clean his stuff out of his room and get it into the attic. Then move our larger stuff into that room and then we can gut that room and start from stratch and cleaning it up. We need new dry wall, ceiling, electrical, flooring, sub flooring, painting, and trim. Then we can move our stuff back into our bedroom and then start on Walter's bedroom. His room will become my craft room. It will be gutted as well. The closets will be removed and we'll build shelves. Redo the drywall, sub floor, ceiling, and electrical. His room will be open as well. The wall next to the stairs will be taken out as will the door. Our room will be the only closed area in the basement. Once again this will have to wait.
We need to finish the den area. I want to start working on the sub floor in that room and we're going to laying down the same flooring that we have in the laundry room. We really like that color and it's so damn easy to lay! I can't wait to get to work on this!!!!!
I wanted to start working on the porch during the fall but I think it's going to be easier to just wait with it. I just want to get started on something! I feel like we're standing still. I'm excited about how things are going to look when we're done!
The 1st project is the front porch. The current porch is falling apart. The stairs are bowing as you walk up them. The balistraude is falling apart with the rails coming out of the porch all together. In a couple of spots I'm afraid to step because I'm afraid I'm going to fall through the porch. The porch isn't the best in design and it's not big enough. Unfortunately all David and I have agreed upon is that it needs to be made out of red wood and pressure treated wood. UGH! I came up with a design idea that would block off the side yard from the dogs and from prying eyes from the sidewalk in the front of the house (we want privacy when we put in our hot tub), and it would give us more room. David said flat out that he doesn't want to redo the sprinkler system. I'd really like it if we would but what do I know. I'm sure eventually he'll come around to thinking about it but I'm wondering how long that will take.
The 2nd project is our bedroom. I want to get that room done. What I want to do though is wait until Walter goes off to boot camp, then we can clean his stuff out of his room and get it into the attic. Then move our larger stuff into that room and then we can gut that room and start from stratch and cleaning it up. We need new dry wall, ceiling, electrical, flooring, sub flooring, painting, and trim. Then we can move our stuff back into our bedroom and then start on Walter's bedroom. His room will become my craft room. It will be gutted as well. The closets will be removed and we'll build shelves. Redo the drywall, sub floor, ceiling, and electrical. His room will be open as well. The wall next to the stairs will be taken out as will the door. Our room will be the only closed area in the basement. Once again this will have to wait.
We need to finish the den area. I want to start working on the sub floor in that room and we're going to laying down the same flooring that we have in the laundry room. We really like that color and it's so damn easy to lay! I can't wait to get to work on this!!!!!
I wanted to start working on the porch during the fall but I think it's going to be easier to just wait with it. I just want to get started on something! I feel like we're standing still. I'm excited about how things are going to look when we're done!
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Follow Up
Okay so it's been a while since the laundry room was mostly done. The cabinet is being built as we speak but it's slow going. David is taking his time to get things done which I understand because he's a bit burnt out on the remodel we just finished. He has gotten the main part of the cabinet built and installed. He's had to notch the top in a couple of spots. In the back part of it for the water lines and such. Then in the front for the washer and dryer controls to be exposed so we can use them. It does turn out that we don't have enough left over flooring to cover the top of the cabinet. So we'll have to buy another box of it. Which isn't too much.
We still have not decided on which room to start on next. Plus there's still the fact of making the plans for the room. So it will be a while. Right now our priorities have moved to the outside of the house. We have plans for a larger garden, things that can't be planted in our hydroponic garden (you're not able to plant root vegetables in a hydroponic garden). We want to plant some more grass seed to expand the yard a little bit more. David wants to build a fire pit and he's making plans for buying a hot tub. Not sure how that's going to work. It all depends how the year goes. Then we have dethatched the yard (as usual it looks like crap) and Nana's little spots have the backyard look like crap. But that's something else we've moved on to fix up.
I have currently bought 3 packets of seeds for chamomile, creeping thyme, and lavendar. I plan on putting this in areas around the garden for color. Plus I want to learn how to make tea from the chamomile and I've been told that planting lavendar is good luck.
Not sure when I'll post again since we've kind of taken some time off. Thanks for reading and keeping up with us!
We still have not decided on which room to start on next. Plus there's still the fact of making the plans for the room. So it will be a while. Right now our priorities have moved to the outside of the house. We have plans for a larger garden, things that can't be planted in our hydroponic garden (you're not able to plant root vegetables in a hydroponic garden). We want to plant some more grass seed to expand the yard a little bit more. David wants to build a fire pit and he's making plans for buying a hot tub. Not sure how that's going to work. It all depends how the year goes. Then we have dethatched the yard (as usual it looks like crap) and Nana's little spots have the backyard look like crap. But that's something else we've moved on to fix up.
I have currently bought 3 packets of seeds for chamomile, creeping thyme, and lavendar. I plan on putting this in areas around the garden for color. Plus I want to learn how to make tea from the chamomile and I've been told that planting lavendar is good luck.
Not sure when I'll post again since we've kind of taken some time off. Thanks for reading and keeping up with us!
Saturday, April 9, 2011
OMG! It's finished
Well not totally. We still have some trim to do, we need to paint the ceiling and we have to put in the overhead light. We also have a cabinet to build. And David has plans for under the stairs. But that's all mostly asthetic. Right now all of the structural stuff is finished! Today we painted the walls and laid the flooring.
I wanted to talk about some of the products we used.
First off, Kilz! Holy crap how much do I love this stuff! I've only used it over painted walls but this time it was used over freshly sanded drywall. With the type of roller we used it added a slight texture to the wall. After both coats were put onto the walls it felt like a wall that had been previously painted with a flat paint. It was nice and so much easier painting with color after putting up the Kilz. I highly recommend this product!
Second, Behr Premium Plus Ultra. I was skeptical of this paint. It's the one you hear about on the TV about how you only need one coat instead of two to fully cover your walls. It....is.....AWESOME! To be fair there are a couple of spots where it got a bit thin but if you're careful on how you paint then you seriously only need one coat of paint! It saved us a ton of time and a lot of extra work to use this paint. David bought two cans of it just to be safe but it went on so well that we now have extra paint. David is still warming up to the color that I chose but if it he likes it then it will also become the kitchen color as well. I highly recommend this product.
Third, Allure Flooring! First off it's water proof. It has edges on it that stick together. It is a completely floating floor that requires no glue what so ever. You press the edges together and that's it! It looks good, has texture, and I love the color. It has a coppery color to it which goes awesome with the green color we put on the walls. They have several different types and styles to choose from. It's a most awesome product and I highly recommend it.
We bought everything from the Home Depot. No this is not because David works there. He doesn't get an employee discount at all but the Allure flooring was told to us by the flooring guys over at the store. Then we also found the Pex tubing which we also were very happy with. The plumbing guys at the store recommended this us as well. The type of insulation we used we were recommended by the guys at the store.
I have to say I've never really utilized the employees at the store but David has found those who know what they're talking about and those who don't. He is utilizing those people and they are all very good at what they do. They actually made this renovation easier by giving us advice on products and problems. I highly recommend the store.
Onto the next project!
I wanted to talk about some of the products we used.
First off, Kilz! Holy crap how much do I love this stuff! I've only used it over painted walls but this time it was used over freshly sanded drywall. With the type of roller we used it added a slight texture to the wall. After both coats were put onto the walls it felt like a wall that had been previously painted with a flat paint. It was nice and so much easier painting with color after putting up the Kilz. I highly recommend this product!
Second, Behr Premium Plus Ultra. I was skeptical of this paint. It's the one you hear about on the TV about how you only need one coat instead of two to fully cover your walls. It....is.....AWESOME! To be fair there are a couple of spots where it got a bit thin but if you're careful on how you paint then you seriously only need one coat of paint! It saved us a ton of time and a lot of extra work to use this paint. David bought two cans of it just to be safe but it went on so well that we now have extra paint. David is still warming up to the color that I chose but if it he likes it then it will also become the kitchen color as well. I highly recommend this product.
Third, Allure Flooring! First off it's water proof. It has edges on it that stick together. It is a completely floating floor that requires no glue what so ever. You press the edges together and that's it! It looks good, has texture, and I love the color. It has a coppery color to it which goes awesome with the green color we put on the walls. They have several different types and styles to choose from. It's a most awesome product and I highly recommend it.
We bought everything from the Home Depot. No this is not because David works there. He doesn't get an employee discount at all but the Allure flooring was told to us by the flooring guys over at the store. Then we also found the Pex tubing which we also were very happy with. The plumbing guys at the store recommended this us as well. The type of insulation we used we were recommended by the guys at the store.
I have to say I've never really utilized the employees at the store but David has found those who know what they're talking about and those who don't. He is utilizing those people and they are all very good at what they do. They actually made this renovation easier by giving us advice on products and problems. I highly recommend the store.
Onto the next project!
Friday, April 8, 2011
Painting!
Finally! When we started this project 3 months ago we thought it would take forever to get to this point. Looking back at it I think that we could have done it in a week had we had the money to buy all of our supplies at one time. Unfortunately we didn't. I still think it was a good idea to go slow with this project though.
David is unhappy with the joints in the room. I told him it was a learning process. Nothing is ever going to look perfect doing this ourselves. The only way we'd get it perfect is having a professional come in and do it.
I started painting Kilz on the walls Wednesday. I was very happy! With so much of the work being done by David alone lately I was feeling a bit left out. Sad I know but still. I guess I hated more that he was working so much on his own. He's so tired between the work at work and the work at home. Anyhoo, David complained about the first layer being too thin but I told him the second one would be a thicker layer. Then when I looked back at it after it had started to dry you can still see spots where I painted it too thin. UGH! Oh well once the color is up on the walls you won't be able to tell the difference.
I was seriously surprised to see David agree to a color that I wanted. He's been surprising me a lot lately. I think he'll enjoy it though. If he does then this will probably be the kitchen color as well. I could have started painting today but David needs to remove the overhead light and sand down one spot that is a pain to get to. Then I'll be able to start taping and putting up color! So tomorrow will be our best bet. If I can get that done early enough then maybe the second coat by the afternoon (that's what I like about Behr paint it dries decently quickly!). Then if we're lucky by Sunday we'll be laying down flooring and putting on outlet covers and putting up our lighting!
David did find a draw back. We were going to put a folding table over the washer and dryer. We had picked out a nice counter top and we were going to build a cabinet for it. Well David started doing some measuring and found out that the counter top we'd picked out is too narrow for the width of our washer and dryer. So then after some thinking David said we could still build the cabinet around the washer and dryer and then use the left over flooring for the counter top! What an awesome idea!!!!!!!!!!!! I loved it! This is why I married the man! We'll definitely have left over flooring so I think it's going to work out perfectly!
All in all it's looking great! I'll post more pic on Facebook when I get a chance.
David is unhappy with the joints in the room. I told him it was a learning process. Nothing is ever going to look perfect doing this ourselves. The only way we'd get it perfect is having a professional come in and do it.
I started painting Kilz on the walls Wednesday. I was very happy! With so much of the work being done by David alone lately I was feeling a bit left out. Sad I know but still. I guess I hated more that he was working so much on his own. He's so tired between the work at work and the work at home. Anyhoo, David complained about the first layer being too thin but I told him the second one would be a thicker layer. Then when I looked back at it after it had started to dry you can still see spots where I painted it too thin. UGH! Oh well once the color is up on the walls you won't be able to tell the difference.
I was seriously surprised to see David agree to a color that I wanted. He's been surprising me a lot lately. I think he'll enjoy it though. If he does then this will probably be the kitchen color as well. I could have started painting today but David needs to remove the overhead light and sand down one spot that is a pain to get to. Then I'll be able to start taping and putting up color! So tomorrow will be our best bet. If I can get that done early enough then maybe the second coat by the afternoon (that's what I like about Behr paint it dries decently quickly!). Then if we're lucky by Sunday we'll be laying down flooring and putting on outlet covers and putting up our lighting!
David did find a draw back. We were going to put a folding table over the washer and dryer. We had picked out a nice counter top and we were going to build a cabinet for it. Well David started doing some measuring and found out that the counter top we'd picked out is too narrow for the width of our washer and dryer. So then after some thinking David said we could still build the cabinet around the washer and dryer and then use the left over flooring for the counter top! What an awesome idea!!!!!!!!!!!! I loved it! This is why I married the man! We'll definitely have left over flooring so I think it's going to work out perfectly!
All in all it's looking great! I'll post more pic on Facebook when I get a chance.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
We Have Progress!
Finally! It has taken forever but we're finally making progress. After 3 months of work. When we started the walls were mudded. But now after all we've done we're back to that point. We are now sanding. I'm loving it! David has finished most of it. He's been working on it for a couple of weeks now (in his free time and on the weekends). I hate that he's been working on it by himself but there's not much for me to do. I'm usually in the way so I've been staying out of the way. It looks great down there.
Today he had to fill in a couple more spots. He'll spend his extra time sanding the rest of it. We're hoping that next weekend we can start putting up some primer and deciding on a paint color. Mind you I get Tuesday off and David's hours have changed this week and won't have to go in until 5pm. So I'm hoping we can make a short trip to Home Depot this week and have that decided.
Then it's the flooring we'll have to deal with. He has some questions for his buddies at Home Depot about that. Once that gets answered we'll be good to go there.
We ended up deciding not to start on our bedroom. I told David we have other priorities right now. We have other things that need to be done first. The back fence needs to be fixed and with spring here and summer coming on we need to start thinking about the yard and the garden. We also want to put something down in the back parking area so we won't have to deal with the mud and muck that happens back there when it rains or the snow melts. So many things to do. With the summer coming on we're excited to be spending time outside. Even with the snow today we spent quite a bit of time outside. We spent some of it in the green house watching the snow fall. It wasn't really cold outside but it was wet. Being in the green house made David start to think about covering and enclosing the back porch. He realized how nice it would be to sit out on the back porch and watch the snow fall or watch the rain come down.
We also went to the Home and Garden Show yesterday which is always a bad idea! LOL. We found several new ideas and products we'd like to get for the home. We looked at geothermal energy but the guy was awesome in telling us that for in town it would be a bad idea. So that was good. We also are starting to consider solar power instead of wind power.
Okay now I'm just babbling on about nothing. So until next time!
Today he had to fill in a couple more spots. He'll spend his extra time sanding the rest of it. We're hoping that next weekend we can start putting up some primer and deciding on a paint color. Mind you I get Tuesday off and David's hours have changed this week and won't have to go in until 5pm. So I'm hoping we can make a short trip to Home Depot this week and have that decided.
Then it's the flooring we'll have to deal with. He has some questions for his buddies at Home Depot about that. Once that gets answered we'll be good to go there.
We ended up deciding not to start on our bedroom. I told David we have other priorities right now. We have other things that need to be done first. The back fence needs to be fixed and with spring here and summer coming on we need to start thinking about the yard and the garden. We also want to put something down in the back parking area so we won't have to deal with the mud and muck that happens back there when it rains or the snow melts. So many things to do. With the summer coming on we're excited to be spending time outside. Even with the snow today we spent quite a bit of time outside. We spent some of it in the green house watching the snow fall. It wasn't really cold outside but it was wet. Being in the green house made David start to think about covering and enclosing the back porch. He realized how nice it would be to sit out on the back porch and watch the snow fall or watch the rain come down.
We also went to the Home and Garden Show yesterday which is always a bad idea! LOL. We found several new ideas and products we'd like to get for the home. We looked at geothermal energy but the guy was awesome in telling us that for in town it would be a bad idea. So that was good. We also are starting to consider solar power instead of wind power.
Okay now I'm just babbling on about nothing. So until next time!
Getting Close
So the drywall is up. Thank goodness it wasn't a bigger hassle than it could have been. Luckily it's a small room so that helped out a lot. David has spent the past couple of weeks working on the mudding and sanding. The mudding I did help out with but not very well. David has done 90% of this step on his own. He's too picky about how it's done for me to really do much of anything without doing it wrong. I'd rather just sit back and let him do it than argue about it. Makes my life easier. LOL.
David is already speaking of putting up Kilz on the walls and possibly looking at some paint. We still have yet to decide on a color. I have a color in mind but until I show David what I'm thinking of there is no final decision made. Getting to Home Depot at the same time is a pain sometimes. I would go while he's working but then that's taking away from his work and it's bad work ethics. Plus I don't want to get him into trouble. Either way it's getting close to being done. He's also talking about crown molding. Which works and will tie the upstairs in with the downstairs. We have molding around the ceiling upstairs. Mine as well have it downstairs as well. Plus it will cover some imperfections we have around the ceiling.
Guess what? David came to me today and said why don't we start tearing the walls out of our bedroom today? WHAT???!!!! LOL. You never know with David.....it just might happen. Even though he said it wouldn't.
David is already speaking of putting up Kilz on the walls and possibly looking at some paint. We still have yet to decide on a color. I have a color in mind but until I show David what I'm thinking of there is no final decision made. Getting to Home Depot at the same time is a pain sometimes. I would go while he's working but then that's taking away from his work and it's bad work ethics. Plus I don't want to get him into trouble. Either way it's getting close to being done. He's also talking about crown molding. Which works and will tie the upstairs in with the downstairs. We have molding around the ceiling upstairs. Mine as well have it downstairs as well. Plus it will cover some imperfections we have around the ceiling.
Guess what? David came to me today and said why don't we start tearing the walls out of our bedroom today? WHAT???!!!! LOL. You never know with David.....it just might happen. Even though he said it wouldn't.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
It's Starting To Hit
When I say that I mean the stress. We've spent almost all of our weekends and days off working on this laundry room.
This past weekend I mentioned to David we should get out of the house for a little while. David just got a new camera and I thought we could go out and take pictures. He says, "I had already decided that." Well we ended up spending the weekend down stairs in the laundry room.
Now please don't get me wrong the laundry room is really coming along! We've almost gotten back to where we started. When we started the sub flooring was done, drywall was up, and mudding was finished. Now we're back to where we began. Now it's going to be nothing but progress at this point. It always feels better. But after talking with several people they've all told me the same thing. At some point you're going to need (not want but need!) to get out of the house. Not necessarily out of town or anything but definitely get out of the house. So I told David that this weekend we're getting out of the house and we're not going to work on the laundry room at all. Yes I want to get it done but I also know we need time off.
We had originally asked one of Walter's friends to come over and mud the laundry room for us. He's wanting to go into the construction field after graduation and we felt it would give him good experience plus we wouldn't have to do it. LOL. He did a great job on the ceiling of the laundry room but then got into trouble and wasn't able to finish it. David and I did the rest of it. We've got the first layer up but now need to work the second layer. Then the dreaded job of sanding!!!!!!!!!!!!!! David is thinking it's not a big deal but I got to say I hate sanding. It's not as bad as hanging drywall on the ceiling but definitely in the top 5! LOL. It's just another step.
The room is getting to that point where you know it's finally coming together. Things are looking like a room. Unfortunately we unplugged our lay down freezer to move it and didn't get it plugged back in until today. So I think we lost everything in there. I can say there isn't a lot of food in there but it's still a loss of food and doesn't settle well with David and/or I.
This past weekend I mentioned to David we should get out of the house for a little while. David just got a new camera and I thought we could go out and take pictures. He says, "I had already decided that." Well we ended up spending the weekend down stairs in the laundry room.
Now please don't get me wrong the laundry room is really coming along! We've almost gotten back to where we started. When we started the sub flooring was done, drywall was up, and mudding was finished. Now we're back to where we began. Now it's going to be nothing but progress at this point. It always feels better. But after talking with several people they've all told me the same thing. At some point you're going to need (not want but need!) to get out of the house. Not necessarily out of town or anything but definitely get out of the house. So I told David that this weekend we're getting out of the house and we're not going to work on the laundry room at all. Yes I want to get it done but I also know we need time off.
We had originally asked one of Walter's friends to come over and mud the laundry room for us. He's wanting to go into the construction field after graduation and we felt it would give him good experience plus we wouldn't have to do it. LOL. He did a great job on the ceiling of the laundry room but then got into trouble and wasn't able to finish it. David and I did the rest of it. We've got the first layer up but now need to work the second layer. Then the dreaded job of sanding!!!!!!!!!!!!!! David is thinking it's not a big deal but I got to say I hate sanding. It's not as bad as hanging drywall on the ceiling but definitely in the top 5! LOL. It's just another step.
The room is getting to that point where you know it's finally coming together. Things are looking like a room. Unfortunately we unplugged our lay down freezer to move it and didn't get it plugged back in until today. So I think we lost everything in there. I can say there isn't a lot of food in there but it's still a loss of food and doesn't settle well with David and/or I.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Almost There?
So yesterday we kicked butt on the laundry room. And it only took 3 trips to Home Depot! UGH! I know David works there but if I spend one more minute in that store I'm gonna scream! LOL. Anyhoo, besides a minor upset between......up you guessed it Walter and David the rest of the day went pretty well.
David got all of the new plumbing done. We're using a product called Pex tubing. It's flexible tubing instead of piping. And instead of threaded bits and pieces it uses a product called "Sharkbite". You push it into the adapters and that's it. It's really cool and interesting. It was much easier to put together although not so easy to buy. It's a bit pricey but I gotta say when we were done and ran a load of clothes it was nice to not hear those pipes banging back and forth.
Our day was a full one. David expected to spend a couple of hours in the basement and that was it. We spent the entire day. We started at around 10am and didn't stop until 7pm. David was worried some of the pipes were glued together. Luckily none of them were but their were some rusty spots. I spent the day in a water park. LOL. I was wet most of the day. No matter what you do with pipes and how much you drain them they are going to get water everywhere! David was working around the water heater and went to loosen a pipe when the water line for the hot water coming out of the water heater snapped! Hot water going everywhere. So we busted butt getting the hose hooked up so we could drain it. All the while my finger is over the snapped part of the pipe (that water was H-O-T!), but we got it done. Afterwards we were glad it happened while we were there instead of in the middle of the night! After helping one friend with a busted water heater I don't want to think about it! At another point we were dealing with another pipe and water spewed everywhere! I just stood there drenched and thinking to myself, "How is David going to react?" When I hear him begin to laugh. I look up and his face is covered with water! It was very funny. It could have been a volitile situation but we held it together. LOL. Needless to say the plumbing is replaced and looking nice. We moved the outlets for the washer over since we're unstacking them and set everything up. Before quitting we finished putting in the insulation and here and there we'll be putting up the rest of the vapor barrier and then the dry wall. That room is going to be toasty next winter!
No new discoveries for us on this leg of the journey. I think we're done finding them. But David did mention that he feels like we took 2 steps back and only 1 step forward yesterday. I feel the same. Having to repair all the mistakes is taking it's toll not only on us but also on our wallet. It's like the guy got it almost right in some spots and in others he was almost clueless. But every time I think that or say that I always tell myself that someone after us is going to come in and ask, "What were these people thinking doing it this way?" So it makes me wonder how right we're doing.
I do have some updated photos on my facebook to show our progress. I'll keep posting as we work on it.
David got all of the new plumbing done. We're using a product called Pex tubing. It's flexible tubing instead of piping. And instead of threaded bits and pieces it uses a product called "Sharkbite". You push it into the adapters and that's it. It's really cool and interesting. It was much easier to put together although not so easy to buy. It's a bit pricey but I gotta say when we were done and ran a load of clothes it was nice to not hear those pipes banging back and forth.
Our day was a full one. David expected to spend a couple of hours in the basement and that was it. We spent the entire day. We started at around 10am and didn't stop until 7pm. David was worried some of the pipes were glued together. Luckily none of them were but their were some rusty spots. I spent the day in a water park. LOL. I was wet most of the day. No matter what you do with pipes and how much you drain them they are going to get water everywhere! David was working around the water heater and went to loosen a pipe when the water line for the hot water coming out of the water heater snapped! Hot water going everywhere. So we busted butt getting the hose hooked up so we could drain it. All the while my finger is over the snapped part of the pipe (that water was H-O-T!), but we got it done. Afterwards we were glad it happened while we were there instead of in the middle of the night! After helping one friend with a busted water heater I don't want to think about it! At another point we were dealing with another pipe and water spewed everywhere! I just stood there drenched and thinking to myself, "How is David going to react?" When I hear him begin to laugh. I look up and his face is covered with water! It was very funny. It could have been a volitile situation but we held it together. LOL. Needless to say the plumbing is replaced and looking nice. We moved the outlets for the washer over since we're unstacking them and set everything up. Before quitting we finished putting in the insulation and here and there we'll be putting up the rest of the vapor barrier and then the dry wall. That room is going to be toasty next winter!
No new discoveries for us on this leg of the journey. I think we're done finding them. But David did mention that he feels like we took 2 steps back and only 1 step forward yesterday. I feel the same. Having to repair all the mistakes is taking it's toll not only on us but also on our wallet. It's like the guy got it almost right in some spots and in others he was almost clueless. But every time I think that or say that I always tell myself that someone after us is going to come in and ask, "What were these people thinking doing it this way?" So it makes me wonder how right we're doing.
I do have some updated photos on my facebook to show our progress. I'll keep posting as we work on it.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Drywall
Okay so yesterday we started hanging drywall. I have come to the conclusion that hanging drywall on the ceiling has got to be the worst job in the history of man. It's going to be my own personal hell. David was not much help being grouchy either.
See this is where I have to tell everyone a little secret. David is a perfectionist! The man drives me insane with his OCD on how things need to be done the right way. He was upset because the dry wall is supposed to be scattered and joints aren't supposed to be butted up against each other. How he missed cutting the hole for the ceiling light in the right place and the hole is larger than it should be. Then he got mad because certain things weren't lining up like they were supposed to. It was a most frustrating day!!!
With the joints thing I told him it wasn't a test, it wasn't going to be on an inspection, we weren't going to get fined for it and once the paint is up no one will know the difference! The hole for the light is easily covered by the light itself and can easily be patched. And as for things not lining up the way they're supposed to....well David said it perfectly when he stated, "Ah drywall mud covers a large spectrum of mistakes!"
I think of all we're dealing with he's been great! But when you get a grouchy husband (he was previously upset during the day due to our bank pisses us off) and a hormonal teenager together in one room it's going to be a volatile situation! "It's a deadly combination!" To quote Fire Marshall Bill. But thankfully the drywall on the ceiling is almost completely done. There is a thin strip along one side of the ceiling that needs to be finished and we're now working on the walls. David got tired last night and said he was done! Amazing that he wanted to work on it on his birthday.
Today we're hoping to work on the plumbing and finish hanging the drywall. Then we move onto tape and mudding! I'm seriously not looking forward to the unhappy job of sanding! :( Such is life and it needs to be done!
See this is where I have to tell everyone a little secret. David is a perfectionist! The man drives me insane with his OCD on how things need to be done the right way. He was upset because the dry wall is supposed to be scattered and joints aren't supposed to be butted up against each other. How he missed cutting the hole for the ceiling light in the right place and the hole is larger than it should be. Then he got mad because certain things weren't lining up like they were supposed to. It was a most frustrating day!!!
With the joints thing I told him it wasn't a test, it wasn't going to be on an inspection, we weren't going to get fined for it and once the paint is up no one will know the difference! The hole for the light is easily covered by the light itself and can easily be patched. And as for things not lining up the way they're supposed to....well David said it perfectly when he stated, "Ah drywall mud covers a large spectrum of mistakes!"
I think of all we're dealing with he's been great! But when you get a grouchy husband (he was previously upset during the day due to our bank pisses us off) and a hormonal teenager together in one room it's going to be a volatile situation! "It's a deadly combination!" To quote Fire Marshall Bill. But thankfully the drywall on the ceiling is almost completely done. There is a thin strip along one side of the ceiling that needs to be finished and we're now working on the walls. David got tired last night and said he was done! Amazing that he wanted to work on it on his birthday.
Today we're hoping to work on the plumbing and finish hanging the drywall. Then we move onto tape and mudding! I'm seriously not looking forward to the unhappy job of sanding! :( Such is life and it needs to be done!
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Something I Don't Like
David and I have been married for 11 1/2 years now. In that period of time I've have rarely found something that I don't like doing with him. We have so much in common. The same sense of humor, we like to do the same things, and in general we just get along. Today I discovered though that I absolutely abhore doing electrical work with this man! I'm sure he'd appreciate it more if I knew what he was talking about but when I ask a question he answers it in terms like I know what he's talking about. Do I look like an electrican? Do I look like I know what you're talking about? No, not really! UGH!
Today we were running electrical wiring for the dryer. Using a higher rated wire and a new plug and bringing the plug down on the wall since the washer and dryer are going to be unstacked when the cabinet is made over them for the folding table. While running it to the breaker box he pulled out a section of the old wiring. And when I say old, I mean O. L. D. !!! It was copper wire, covered ancient plastic that was then covered over in fabric. It was apparently anchored to the wall via staples. But they're nails going through ceramic pieces. I asked him, "What is this?" David says, "A staple." I said, "Oh, of course, cause I know exactly what you're talking about!" LOL. I thought it was funny but he got a bit miffed with me. He's lucky I'm not a person who gets ticked off easily otherwise that would have started a huge argument. LOL. We'll laugh about it later and it wasn't that big of a deal but some days.......let me tell ya!
Anyhoo, we did get the wiring done, and the dryer is working again. He's now running more cable to go from William's room to the basement for William's computer. He's also running cable and phone wire to finish up the wiring in William's room. So now the laundry room, William's room and Edward's room are all completely wired with new connections, outlets, switches, and cable. Another thing counted off the list.
Walking around the basement today I realize how much patience it takes to do any type of renovation. First you're dealing with the arguments between you and your significant other. But then there's the other points. All of the stuff that usually goes into the laundry room is now all over the basement. You've got a shelf stashed here, a laundry basket there, a box somewhere else. Whenever you want to go downstairs you're manuveuring through a maze of crap that always fit so neatly into the laundry room and is now stashed everywhere! I feel the worst for poor Walter. A lot of the beer making stuff that is usually under our stairs is in his room taking up his space. He's being a good guy about it but I know it gets on his nerves. To compensate we haven't been as harsh about the cleanliness of his room but I don't think that does much good.
So I guess that's another good lesson. When preparing for a renovation don't just think about the renovation itself but all the other stuff that goes with it including where you'll put everything and the people you'll be putting out with all of your crap!
I gotta say this as well, it's making me want to go through our stuff again and get rid of more stuff!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Today we were running electrical wiring for the dryer. Using a higher rated wire and a new plug and bringing the plug down on the wall since the washer and dryer are going to be unstacked when the cabinet is made over them for the folding table. While running it to the breaker box he pulled out a section of the old wiring. And when I say old, I mean O. L. D. !!! It was copper wire, covered ancient plastic that was then covered over in fabric. It was apparently anchored to the wall via staples. But they're nails going through ceramic pieces. I asked him, "What is this?" David says, "A staple." I said, "Oh, of course, cause I know exactly what you're talking about!" LOL. I thought it was funny but he got a bit miffed with me. He's lucky I'm not a person who gets ticked off easily otherwise that would have started a huge argument. LOL. We'll laugh about it later and it wasn't that big of a deal but some days.......let me tell ya!
Anyhoo, we did get the wiring done, and the dryer is working again. He's now running more cable to go from William's room to the basement for William's computer. He's also running cable and phone wire to finish up the wiring in William's room. So now the laundry room, William's room and Edward's room are all completely wired with new connections, outlets, switches, and cable. Another thing counted off the list.
Walking around the basement today I realize how much patience it takes to do any type of renovation. First you're dealing with the arguments between you and your significant other. But then there's the other points. All of the stuff that usually goes into the laundry room is now all over the basement. You've got a shelf stashed here, a laundry basket there, a box somewhere else. Whenever you want to go downstairs you're manuveuring through a maze of crap that always fit so neatly into the laundry room and is now stashed everywhere! I feel the worst for poor Walter. A lot of the beer making stuff that is usually under our stairs is in his room taking up his space. He's being a good guy about it but I know it gets on his nerves. To compensate we haven't been as harsh about the cleanliness of his room but I don't think that does much good.
So I guess that's another good lesson. When preparing for a renovation don't just think about the renovation itself but all the other stuff that goes with it including where you'll put everything and the people you'll be putting out with all of your crap!
I gotta say this as well, it's making me want to go through our stuff again and get rid of more stuff!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Waiting
I have to say when it comes to renovating the worst part is waiting. We're not the typical home improvers. We can't afford to buy all of our supplies at once so we buy as we go. This is a pro and con type situation it's got good points and bad points.
The good points are we're taking it slow and easy. With this it keeps us from getting bored or frustrated so we take our time on things. We're not letting the renovation get to us so we're not making mistakes that would come with the mentality of "let's just get this done!" It's giving us more time to talk through decisions that come up during the renovation, because no matter what you do you can't come up with answers for every single situation that may come up. Plus if our ideas change we're not stuck with supplies we don't want. We can take a little extra time with decisions like "do we really want this color of floor tile?" It helps.
The bad thing is we want to work but have no supplies to get anywhere. Currently we're at a stand still. We don't have supplies to finish certain things before we can continue with another area that needs to be finished! UGH! It's a bit frustrating. Today we were stuck inside due to a snow storm and we could have worked more on the laundry room but with no supplies we ended up sitting around instead.
Some days I wish we had everything but other days I'm glad we have the time to make sure we want what we've decided. I guess it's a catch 22 situation. LOL. Isn't everything though. Lucky for us David and I have next weekend off together and we'll be able to finish up the walls and start on the drywall! Another step in the right direction.
The good points are we're taking it slow and easy. With this it keeps us from getting bored or frustrated so we take our time on things. We're not letting the renovation get to us so we're not making mistakes that would come with the mentality of "let's just get this done!" It's giving us more time to talk through decisions that come up during the renovation, because no matter what you do you can't come up with answers for every single situation that may come up. Plus if our ideas change we're not stuck with supplies we don't want. We can take a little extra time with decisions like "do we really want this color of floor tile?" It helps.
The bad thing is we want to work but have no supplies to get anywhere. Currently we're at a stand still. We don't have supplies to finish certain things before we can continue with another area that needs to be finished! UGH! It's a bit frustrating. Today we were stuck inside due to a snow storm and we could have worked more on the laundry room but with no supplies we ended up sitting around instead.
Some days I wish we had everything but other days I'm glad we have the time to make sure we want what we've decided. I guess it's a catch 22 situation. LOL. Isn't everything though. Lucky for us David and I have next weekend off together and we'll be able to finish up the walls and start on the drywall! Another step in the right direction.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Half Way There
We are half way done! The laundry room is starting to take shape. It's starting to look like a laundry room should. Things we have learned:
The man who worked on this house previously had an issue with ground wires. He never used them!!!! Dear Lord we haven't found anything that's been grounded. It's scary to think about. With the fabric covered wiring we have in this house it's worrisome to have such a fire hazard.
You have to keep a sense of humor during a remodel. David and I laugh and joke through a lot of the stressful and frustrating points during this renovation and it's helped.
Make sure you both agree on everything before you even start demolition. Do window shopping, make a list of what you want, make sure you both completely agree on every single aspect. Where you choose to place things, lighting, wall color, flooring, even down to the type of 2x4's you plan on using. It's the best and easiest way to get through things. Then when things do come up they will be smaller issues and easier to deal with once you know what you plan on doing.
In the 3 days we've been working on the room we've gotten the sub floor and ply wood down. The walls are all framed in despite 2 more pieces of wood. We've gotten most of the insulation in. The wiring is done except for the sconces we've chosen to put on the walls. All of the plugs work, the switches work, and have been wired into the breaker box. All that's left to do is the dry wall, framing in the windows (we're framing in around the windows with wood), flooring, mudding and taping, lighting, and painting. We've also decided on the wall color, the type of wood the cabinets will be made out of, the counter top we'll be using, and the switch and plug covers.
I really can't wait until this is done and it's finished. Some days it's annoying and frustrating but I keep thinking of two things: 1) it's gonna look awesome when it's done and the house will be more ours when we're done, and 2) it's added equity into the house. We're building upon our investment. I really can't wait to share with you all the pictures!!!!!
The man who worked on this house previously had an issue with ground wires. He never used them!!!! Dear Lord we haven't found anything that's been grounded. It's scary to think about. With the fabric covered wiring we have in this house it's worrisome to have such a fire hazard.
You have to keep a sense of humor during a remodel. David and I laugh and joke through a lot of the stressful and frustrating points during this renovation and it's helped.
Make sure you both agree on everything before you even start demolition. Do window shopping, make a list of what you want, make sure you both completely agree on every single aspect. Where you choose to place things, lighting, wall color, flooring, even down to the type of 2x4's you plan on using. It's the best and easiest way to get through things. Then when things do come up they will be smaller issues and easier to deal with once you know what you plan on doing.
In the 3 days we've been working on the room we've gotten the sub floor and ply wood down. The walls are all framed in despite 2 more pieces of wood. We've gotten most of the insulation in. The wiring is done except for the sconces we've chosen to put on the walls. All of the plugs work, the switches work, and have been wired into the breaker box. All that's left to do is the dry wall, framing in the windows (we're framing in around the windows with wood), flooring, mudding and taping, lighting, and painting. We've also decided on the wall color, the type of wood the cabinets will be made out of, the counter top we'll be using, and the switch and plug covers.
I really can't wait until this is done and it's finished. Some days it's annoying and frustrating but I keep thinking of two things: 1) it's gonna look awesome when it's done and the house will be more ours when we're done, and 2) it's added equity into the house. We're building upon our investment. I really can't wait to share with you all the pictures!!!!!
Saturday, February 12, 2011
The Problems
The house we own was built in 1932. It's an Arts and Crafts home. It's been around for a while and was probably one of the first houses built in our neighborhood. We're slowly learning the history of our home. Things like our home was owned by a man named Robert Noble. He owned the Noble Merchantile which was located kitty-korner from our house. That area is now the location of the St. Vincent de Paul's parking lot. The business was moved across Central Ave. W. to where Noble Liquor is now. Mr. Noble's brother owns the liquor store. I've talked with him and he says the family grew up in this neighbhood. In face he grew up across the street from my house. Mr. Noble died in the mid 1970's. His wife lived in the house until 2002. She kept the house in impeccable condition. She was moved from the home and put into a nursing home where she died in 2004. Since then the house has been owned by two other families besides ours.
Other little facts I've learned is our street has not always been 1st Ave. SW. It used to be called Pierce Ave. And Central Ave. W used to be called Broadway Ave. I've also learned that an alleyway about 2 blocks up from us is asphalt and has sidewalks on either side of it. I've always wondered about this. During a tour of the Civic Center with William's Boy Scout troop I learned this alley is called Pig Alley. We're located by the railroad yard. Well the story goes that this alleyway was used to move pigs from the rail cars to where a slaughter house was previously located. It's no longer there. I love living in my neighborhood. You could live in a big house, in a new area but you don't get these historic stories in those types of areas. I've enjoyed learning about our area and I look forward to learn more.
With the fact that this house is almost 80 years old the house has some issues. Like any home would. But we have the extra added issue of the fact that the last owner thought he knew what he was doing. We have found issues that come with all old homes. It still has single paned windows, lathe and plaster walls, no insulation in outer walls, and the original floor joists. But to join the list of regular things we've discovered oh so many other problems. We have found that they tried to redo certain areas of the home like the kitchen, the bathroom, one of the bedrooms, and the basement.
The kitchen was redone with sub standard stuff which was the cheapest things you could find. We found our sink for $25.00 at Poulson's. The plumbing was poorly done. They moved the stove from where it was originally to an area next to a wall. The flooring is not a good one, it's slick and at times dangerous plus they put it directly over hard wood floors, one of the window panes has been broken out and was covered with a book propped up on the sill. The cabinets are barely attached to the wall and the cupboards are falling apart.
The bathroom had one of my favorite problems. Every time we would shower we'd have a leak into the basement. We had to take it apart to find the problem. Oh we found the problem alright! The idiot tried to "fix" the plumbing by sauldering brass onto copper. We you can't do that. He learned but then "fixed" it by gluing the pipes together with Gorilla Glue. When we changed out the sink we found out that the guy tried putting PVC piping into the original galvanized steel pipe but it didn't fit so he forced it and buckled the PVC piping. It's been slowly dripping. He cut out studs and didn't replace them, and once again he put flooring over hard wood floors. So our bathroom door way has a 1 1/2 step up between the hall way and the bathroom itself.
The basement we've started working on. When we first moved in they had been in the process of sectioning off the basement into rooms. The man apparently had no concept of 16 inches on center! Then we had our laundry room. We ripped that all out because the sub floor he laid down he had done a poor job, he didn't finish it, and the walls were about 4 inches thicker than they needed to be.
As you can see it's going to be a large job and a long process. But I think we're up for it. We look forward to the adventure that lies ahead.
Other little facts I've learned is our street has not always been 1st Ave. SW. It used to be called Pierce Ave. And Central Ave. W used to be called Broadway Ave. I've also learned that an alleyway about 2 blocks up from us is asphalt and has sidewalks on either side of it. I've always wondered about this. During a tour of the Civic Center with William's Boy Scout troop I learned this alley is called Pig Alley. We're located by the railroad yard. Well the story goes that this alleyway was used to move pigs from the rail cars to where a slaughter house was previously located. It's no longer there. I love living in my neighborhood. You could live in a big house, in a new area but you don't get these historic stories in those types of areas. I've enjoyed learning about our area and I look forward to learn more.
With the fact that this house is almost 80 years old the house has some issues. Like any home would. But we have the extra added issue of the fact that the last owner thought he knew what he was doing. We have found issues that come with all old homes. It still has single paned windows, lathe and plaster walls, no insulation in outer walls, and the original floor joists. But to join the list of regular things we've discovered oh so many other problems. We have found that they tried to redo certain areas of the home like the kitchen, the bathroom, one of the bedrooms, and the basement.
The kitchen was redone with sub standard stuff which was the cheapest things you could find. We found our sink for $25.00 at Poulson's. The plumbing was poorly done. They moved the stove from where it was originally to an area next to a wall. The flooring is not a good one, it's slick and at times dangerous plus they put it directly over hard wood floors, one of the window panes has been broken out and was covered with a book propped up on the sill. The cabinets are barely attached to the wall and the cupboards are falling apart.
The bathroom had one of my favorite problems. Every time we would shower we'd have a leak into the basement. We had to take it apart to find the problem. Oh we found the problem alright! The idiot tried to "fix" the plumbing by sauldering brass onto copper. We you can't do that. He learned but then "fixed" it by gluing the pipes together with Gorilla Glue. When we changed out the sink we found out that the guy tried putting PVC piping into the original galvanized steel pipe but it didn't fit so he forced it and buckled the PVC piping. It's been slowly dripping. He cut out studs and didn't replace them, and once again he put flooring over hard wood floors. So our bathroom door way has a 1 1/2 step up between the hall way and the bathroom itself.
The basement we've started working on. When we first moved in they had been in the process of sectioning off the basement into rooms. The man apparently had no concept of 16 inches on center! Then we had our laundry room. We ripped that all out because the sub floor he laid down he had done a poor job, he didn't finish it, and the walls were about 4 inches thicker than they needed to be.
As you can see it's going to be a large job and a long process. But I think we're up for it. We look forward to the adventure that lies ahead.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Introductions!
Hello, our names are David and Cami-Michelle Spicer. We usually go by Dave and Cami. We have three great kids. Walter is 16, Edward is 15, and William is 12. Our lives are simple. David and I both work. David is in the Hardware department at Home Depot. I'm currently working in the Receiving department at the Malmstrom Commissary. In our spare time we geocache, hike, swim, and discover new areas around our home town of Great Falls. David was 12 years in the Air Force and during most of that I was a stay at home Mother but I also went to school for 3 years for Interior Design. That's a just a little bit about us.
David and I have been married for 11 years. We've been through a whole lot. Seriously we have been but that's not what this blog is about. Right before David got out of the military we finally decided to take the leap and buy a house. We were both very scared but felt that once we moved from base housing it would be best to buy rather than to rent. Cost being the biggest factor.
Buying a house was a lot harder than we thought. Money was the biggest issue. Finding something in our price range, something that we both liked, in an area we wanted to live in, and finally agreeing on one. It took us over 6 months to find one. We probably drove our realtor insane! Chuck Jones was awesome though. He was there every time we wanted to look at a house and was patient with us. The house we live in now was originally found in a housing brochure. I saw it, it was in our price range so I mentioned it to David, the first time he said no just from looking at the picture. I spent another month looking and brought it up to David again. He said we'd drive by it. After the drive by he said no again. I spent another two months looking. We found one that we both liked and put in a bid, but lost it. After a couple more months of looking we noticed the house was still on the market so David decided to look inside. I was not impressed. He was dark, cramped, the way the furniture was set up, and the basement smelled funny and the one room was so packed full of crap and was so dark that I didn't even know it had a closet. David on the other hand felt right at home! UGH! I was frustrated. It actually started an argument between the two of us. I have to say the woman we bought the house from did not set up the house to be seen. It wasn't clean and like I mentioned earlier it smelled funny.
After the argument David put in a bid on the house, was denied and so we put in another one and she went for it. We waited another month for our closing date. When we signed the papers I finally saw the house the way it should have been seen, the curtains were open (thankfully she took them with her) and I could "see" the house! I mean I was excited because David and I were finally the owners of our own home but I got really excited once I was able to see the house without all of her stuff.
This blog was started so we could share what we've been through and we've done to improve the house to what we want. We hope you enjoy the blog and sharing in our adventure!!! Thanks for reading!
David and I have been married for 11 years. We've been through a whole lot. Seriously we have been but that's not what this blog is about. Right before David got out of the military we finally decided to take the leap and buy a house. We were both very scared but felt that once we moved from base housing it would be best to buy rather than to rent. Cost being the biggest factor.
Buying a house was a lot harder than we thought. Money was the biggest issue. Finding something in our price range, something that we both liked, in an area we wanted to live in, and finally agreeing on one. It took us over 6 months to find one. We probably drove our realtor insane! Chuck Jones was awesome though. He was there every time we wanted to look at a house and was patient with us. The house we live in now was originally found in a housing brochure. I saw it, it was in our price range so I mentioned it to David, the first time he said no just from looking at the picture. I spent another month looking and brought it up to David again. He said we'd drive by it. After the drive by he said no again. I spent another two months looking. We found one that we both liked and put in a bid, but lost it. After a couple more months of looking we noticed the house was still on the market so David decided to look inside. I was not impressed. He was dark, cramped, the way the furniture was set up, and the basement smelled funny and the one room was so packed full of crap and was so dark that I didn't even know it had a closet. David on the other hand felt right at home! UGH! I was frustrated. It actually started an argument between the two of us. I have to say the woman we bought the house from did not set up the house to be seen. It wasn't clean and like I mentioned earlier it smelled funny.
After the argument David put in a bid on the house, was denied and so we put in another one and she went for it. We waited another month for our closing date. When we signed the papers I finally saw the house the way it should have been seen, the curtains were open (thankfully she took them with her) and I could "see" the house! I mean I was excited because David and I were finally the owners of our own home but I got really excited once I was able to see the house without all of her stuff.
This blog was started so we could share what we've been through and we've done to improve the house to what we want. We hope you enjoy the blog and sharing in our adventure!!! Thanks for reading!
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